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Monday, August 10, 2009

Meeting MWAS

We've been writing together here for over a year, but like most MiM contributors, I have never met MWAS in person. I find it so interesting to know facets of someone's life - insights on their children, their practice, their families, their photo shoots gone awry, their Match Day experience - yet never meeting IRL. (1)

So, when MWAS told me she would be visiting my area last week and did we want to meet up, I said, Yes, of course!

Meeting someone you've only known online is fraught with the unknown. Will we meet each other's expectations? Will it be awkward? Is this some crazy psychopath killer who has only pretended to be a Mother in Medicine for over a year, just to lure me to my surprise death? (Just kidding. I felt I had verified her identity enough to be safe that she was, in all actuality, a pediatrician running a private practice, and mother to two boys.)

We planned our meeting at a nice, safe public place: where else, a nice mall. I'm not sure what first impression I gave her, since I had gotten there early and was testing out some serious Brookstone chair massagers when she and one of her sons walked by. I believe I was full-body vibrating and unable to stand since my calves were locked into the massage contraption.

It was so great to meet MWAS, this woman I feel like I know so well after all of our online and off-line email exchanges. Her son was so handsome and sweet.

I'm not sure what kind of second impression I gave her, since I was in *a very rare* stimulate-the-economy mood (I was celebrating a recent, and hard-won, academic success) and I hope I didn't scare her and progeny by my *very rare, no more shopping for the rest of the year* splurges.

Over lunch, we talked about our jobs and how great this was, being able to connect through the blog, since sometimes it can be hard getting together with other physician-moms in person. And really, who else could really understand?

Our time together was short, but it reinforced to me how wonderful it is being able to connect with such a larger community here (and not limited to MiM contributors) of mothers who understand. It's a sisterhood, really. And I'm glad to be part of it.

8 comments:

A few months ago, I met up with my closest blogger friend. We were blog BFFs, but I was super scared about meeting her. Not so much because I thought she'd murder me (she'd posted so many photos of her family over the four years I knew her that it would have to be quite the elaborate hoax), but because I thought we wouldn't like each other irl. Turned out we had nothing to worry about... she was awesome, just like on her blog, and didn't even come close to murdering me. :)

A good friend of mine (now) and I met because he was a regular reader of my blog, and also a resident at the hospital we do rotations at. It was a little weird when he first said, "Hi [my real name]," and I didn't know who he was, but he turned out to be a really good person. So it seems, sometimes blog friends can be come friends IRL too.

For those reading our blog and all this Murder talk, hopefully no one gets the idea that either of the M's in MIM stands for anything but Mothers, Medicine.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoy getting to know y'all online. I was thrilled to meet KC IRL a while back and learn what IRL means from her just prior to meeting! I agree, kind of like old friends, so at least I didn't have to be concerned about not being fashion-savvy myself!

Ah, fun! I think you should have a big old MiM reunion some time and get you all in one place at once. Probably not possible, but I'll bet it would be delightful.

I've lost my fear of meeting people in real life that I've become acquainted with on line. My husband and I joke that they're all really 60 something bald guys with bad comeovers and rodent fetishes just posing as nice normal folks. So far, though, I've met 3-4 dozen people from forums and blogs, and they have all been wonderful and fun people. My favorite long run buddy came from a forum. And I have several more on my list that I'm just dying to meet, that I already feel like I know so well from blogging.

Mothers in Medicine is a group blog by physician-mothers, writing about the unique challenges and joys of tending to two distinct patient populations, both of whom can be quite demanding. We are on call every. single. day.

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